Mechanism for lasting boots and shoes



.(No Model.) 4 Shets-Sheet 1-.

L R. BLAKE; Mechanism forLasting Boots and Shoes.

No. 241,524; Patented May 1?,

WiLq-E55E5. Irp/E 1:11.

' (No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet 2. L. R. BLAKE. Meohanimm for Lasting Boo-ts and Shoes. No; 241,524. Patented May 7, I881.

Wiir 5 5125. B1 x/ggji W P/ if/w i aw UNITED ST TE PATENT OFFICE.

LYMAN R. BLAKE, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

MECHANl SM FOR LASTING BOOTS AND SHOES.

SPEGIFIGA'II ION forming part of Letters Patent No. 241,524, dated May 17, 1881.

Application filed March 11, 1881. (No model.)

.vices until drawn positively over'upon theinner sole,where it is held until secured to the inner sole by means of a nail or tack driven automatically by a suitable driver.

This my machine is an improvement on Qnited States Patent No. 183,919, to" which reference may be had, wherein a single-movin g deviee'clamps theupper against the face of a fixed nose. In this my inventionI intend to perform in an automatic manner substantiallythe same operation as that performed by a workman when lasting boots and shoeslby hand.

My improved organized machine for lasting contains the following instrumentalitiesviz., a horizontally-movable griping device-to seize the edge of the upper and draw or pullit over the inner sole toward the center of the last, the said griping device being composed of two movable members; a raceway. for combnails, pegs, or tacks; a separator to insure the delivery of thenails. singly from the said raceway; and a driver to drive the said nails or tacks into the upper and innersole while on the last; i

As herein shown,one part of the griping device to seize anddraw the edge of the upper over-upon the inner sole is provided with a nose having a nail-receiving opening, which, as the upper is laid over upon the inner sole, comes into position in line with the driver, driveppassage, andnail-tube, so that-the driver in its descent strikes the comb-nail strip and detaches anail from it,orstrikesthe head of the nailto be driven, and drives it from the nail-tube and the passage in the nose-forming part of i the griping device, into the upper and innersole. V

That in which my invention particularly consists is hereinafter more fully set forth in the claims appended to this specification.

Figure 1 represents, in front elevation, a sufficient portion of the working part of a lasting machine to illustrate this my present invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section of Fig. 1 on the line i m as. Fig; 3 is a partial vertical section thereof,

to illustrate the shoe-feedingdevice which directly engages the shoe, and mechanism for operating the said feeding device. Fig. 4 represents details of the cam and lever for operating that member of the griping or pulling mechanism which acts as a nose, against which the work is held while the nail is being driven by the driver. Fig. 5, in a like manner, represents details of the lever and cam for moving that member of the griping or pullingmechanism which is provided with the foot. Fig. 6 is a partial side view of the raceway and nail-tube. Fig. 7 is an interior view and partial section of one end of the raceway and nail-tube. Fig. 8 is a section of Fig. 7 on the line y y. Fig. 9 is a section of Fig. 7 in the linez 2. Fig. 10 is a detail showing the griping or pulling mechanism in its most forward positionthepositionitwilloccupywhengraspin g and holding the edge of the upper, as therein shown, between the nose and foot andoverthe inner sole on thelastthe said figure showing the driver as having descended through the nail-receiving opening of the nose of the griping or pulling device; and Fig. 11 is a crosssection of the comb-nail strip on an enlarged scale.

In the drawings, Ais supposed to represent a suitable column having at its top aplate, B, upon which are mounted standards ('1, having proper boxes to receive the main rotating shaft D, it havinga fly-wheel, D, connected with and operated by a link, D joined with the end of a suitable foot-lever or treadle. This "s'haft D has a cam, E, provided with a cam-shaped flange to operate upon the roller or other stud e atthe upper end of anarm, 6, of a rockshaft, 6 the lower end of which, as at 6 has jointed with it the feeding device 6 the said cam and rock-shaft imparting to the feeding device, provided at its lower front end with a point or rough surface to engage the leather .of the bootqor shoe, apositive movement in the direction of the arrow thereon,a strong spring,

provided with a slot, which receives a pin at the lower end of a slide-bar, e fitted in a suitable groove or waymade in the frame-work A. This slide-bar c is lifted by a spring, c

(see Fig. 3,) which removes the forward end of the feed device 0 from contact with the shoe to be fed forward, the said bar being actuated to force the acting end or point of the feed device against the material of the shoe by means IO of a lever, 0 pivoted at 0' and operated by the cam E such devices constituting a fourmotioned feeding mechanism.

In order to insure uniformity of distance between the nails or tacks driven in the upper, I 5 the operator need only press the shoe being lasted upward firmly against the feed, and the latter, as it vibrates, will move the shoe horizontally over just the distance traveled by the lower end of. the feeding device. In the patented machine referred to the operator was obliged to move the shoe horizontally under the nose, and in doing so moved it for a greater or less distance, and it was very difficult to insure regularity or uniformity in the distance between the tacks or nails driven into the shoe.

The driver-bar f, provided at its lowervend with the driverf, has at its top a lug, f connected by link f with a vibrating lever, f pivoted at f The rear end of the lever f lms a roller, pin, or stud, f which is operated upon by a cam, F, to raise the driver preparatory to its being thrown down quickly by means of the strong spiral or other spring f Thelower end of the driver, when the d riverbar is in its most elevated position, is held in the nail-tube 2, (see Fig. 2,) which serves as a guide for it. This nail-tube is open at its side to receive a nail or tack from the raceway a, thelower end of which opens into the nail-tube, as represented in Figs. 6 and 7.

The comb-nails a or it may be tacks, are contained in the curved raceway a, as representedin Figs. 8, 9, the flanged head-forming part 12 of the said comb-nail strip entering the groove 13 at one side of the said raceway.

- The comb-nail strip is prevented moving backward by means of a spring-detent,14, the forwardend of which springs in between the nails of the comb-nail strip, and the said strip is moved forward at the proper times to project its endmost nail into the nail-tube 2 under the driver f by a pawl, 15, connected loosely with a lever, 17, pivoted at 18.

The lever 17 has a toe, 19, which is acted upon by a cam, 20, on the driver-bar f, to move the lever 17 and its pawl 15 and nail-strip forward, the said pawl moving for more or less of its stroke along over or in contact with the adjustable detent, according to the length of effective stroke desired for the said pawl.

The pawl is kept pressed toward the raceway by a spring, 16, and the lever 17 is drawn backward by the spring 21.

That nail at the end of the comb-strip engaged by the pawl is placed in the passage a of the nail-tube 2, where it is supported by reason of its connection with the flanged part of the strip until the driver descends and strikes that part of the said flange which forms the head of that nail then to be severed from the comb-strip and driven. As the driver descends it co-operates with the separator or strip-support a to be hereinafter described, and severs the endmost nail from the comb-strip and drives 7 5 it through the passage (1. and through the past sage g (the nose 9 then being thrown for ward, as in Fig. 10, in line with the driver,) and into the upper and inner sole. The said separator or strip-support a is connected with the upper portion of the nose-part g of the horizontally-reciprocating griper member 9. When the nail-driver is about to descend this separator a covers the end of the raceway, and extends between the endmost nail and the next. one at the rear of it, so that the separator also acts as a support for the flange 12 of the combstrip when it is struck by the driver, the support and driver cutting off the nail to be driven preparatory to being driven by the furtherdeo scent of the driver.

The griping or pulling mechanism is composed, essentially, of the two horizontally-re-v ciprocating membersgg. (Shown fullyin Fig.

2 in longitudinal section.) 0 5 The member 9 has a nose, 9 at the front end of its shank, which nose is provided with a nailreceiving opening, 9 that, when the said member is moved fully forward, as represented in Fig. 10, is brought into line with the passage 0/ of the nail-tube 2, to thus permit the nail presented in the nail-tube 2 to be driven by the driver through the passage g into the upper and inner sole, the driver descending to the position shown in Fig. 10, after which itis elevated by the cam F.

The upper end of the nose enters a slot made in the forward end of the bar'g of the pulling mechanism, and at its top has connected with it by a pin, 5, the separator or support a The member 9 has at its rear end a pin, 6, which is engaged byanotched part of thelower end of the forked arm g of a rocking lever pivoted'at gflthe upper end, 9 of the said lever being provided with a suitable roll or stud to permit the cam G to vibrate the said lever and reciprocate the member 9 longitudinally.

The member g of the griping or pulley mechanism is provided at its forward end with a rough-surfaced foot, 9 (see Figs. 2 and 10,) to strike against the innerface of the upper above the inner sole and impinge or push the outer' face of the upper against the beveled surface S of the nose or block 9 thus securely griping and holding the edge of the upper, or upper and lining, between them while the upper. is being pulled or drawn over the last and inner sole toward the center of the last and nailed in place.

The member 9 has its rear end connected 1 0 with a spiral spring, 9 joined to the bolt. 23, which acts to move the foot y" backward in the direction of the arrow when not positively held forward by its operating-lever g After a nail has been driven into the upper the member 9 is moved backward into the position Fig. 2, the member 9 following it.

When the parts are in the position Fig. 3 the edge of the upper, extended abovethe inner sole (the inner sole and upperbein g placed I on a last held by hand or bya jack in any us- -ual way) is inserted between the nose 9 and above the foot'g", and the nose 9,? is then moved forward to grasp the'said edge firmly between the end of the foot and the lower beveled part, 8, of the nose, after which the foot and nose are moved forward in unison.

If the last is held atits heel and toe by hand, the last will be moved backward to increase the strain upon the upper, and just as the foot and nose arrive fully forward the driver will descend and drive a nail.

The member g'and foot are moved by means of a lever, 9 which acts upon shoulders g of the said memberg. (SeeFig.5.) Thislever g is a rocking lever having its fulcrum at g and a suitable roll or stud at its upper end to be acted upon by the cam G the latter vibrating the lever at the proper times. The backward movement of the foot g is determined by the adjustable stop h, it permitting the said foot to adapt-itself to the thickness of the upper being lasted.

Should I employ headed tacks instead of comb-nails, the pawl 16 and detent'14 would be dispensed with, the devicec then acting solely as a separator to close the open end of the raceway while a nail is being driven, but when the said separator is withdrawn a nail at the end of the raceway will enter the nailtube, and its pointwillbe sustained by the shelf 25, the separator then lying between it and the next nail in the raceway.

As the nose is moved forward the passage 9 will arrive under the nail, and the latter will drop into it, to be driven out by the driver.

By moving the pullers longitudinally, as described, and forcing the last in the opposite direction by hand, instead of holding the shoe or boot on a jack, as in United States Patent N 0. 135,540, tighter lasting may be done than in the machine of the class shown in that patent.

The feeding device engages the upper and inner sole to feed the shoe forward while the as a foot to bear against the inner side of the edge of the upper, and the other as a perforated block or nose to bear against the outer surface of the edge of the upper, the foot impinging the upper against the said block and pinching or holding it firmly between them while the independent members of the said griping or pulling devices are moved forward in unison to pull or draw the edge of the upper over upon the inner sole.

2. The griping devices to grasp the edges of the upper, and a raceway for the nails to be driven into the upper and inner sole, combined with a separator located at the lower end of the raceway, substantially as described.

3. The griping devices to grasp the edges of the upper and hold the same, and a tube, raceway, and separator for the nails, combined with a driverto drive a nail, substantially as described.

4. Ina lasting-machine, the griping devices to grasp and pull the upper over the inner sole, and a driver to drive a nail into the upper and inner sole while held by the gripers, moved forward under the driver, combined with a. feeding device to engage the material of the shoe and feed it forward, substantially as described.

5. The vibrating arm 6 and its connected feeding device 0 combined with the reciprocation slide-bar e, to raise and lower the said feeding device, substantially as described.

6. The nail-driver and driver-bar, lever 17, toe 19, and pawl 15, combined with the raceway and adjustable detainer14,suhstantiallyas described.

In testimony whereof I have signed name to this specification in the presence of two sub scribing witnesses.

. LYMAN R. BLAKE. Witnesses:

J os. P. LIVERMORE, ARTHUR REYNOLDS. 

